


Learning Curve

by going_going_gone



Category: Greek and Roman Mythology, Lore Olympus (Webcomic)
Genre: Developing Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Future Fic, Multi, One Shot, Persephone is dating an old nerd, Short One Shot, based on a tweet, he doesn't know how to text
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-02
Updated: 2019-12-02
Packaged: 2021-02-25 20:41:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,489
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21641629
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/going_going_gone/pseuds/going_going_gone
Summary: Persephone realizes early on that being with Hades means she'll have to take things as they come.
Relationships: Eros/Psyche (Lore Olympus), Hades/Persephone (Lore Olympus)
Comments: 9
Kudos: 170





	Learning Curve

**Author's Note:**

> based on this amazing tweet by @bolognesebaby  
> "dating older men sucks because they always text like they’re about to break up with you like bitch wtf is a “Good morning. Call me.” ?????"

“Good morning. Call me…”

Persephone stared down at the phone, eyes wide. He’d texted her this morning, while she was on the train to school. She’d been delighted to hear from him after the disaster of their second date.

It hadn’t been the worst date in history, Eros assured her on the phone afterward, but she had absolutely no reference point, and setting the table cloth on fire seemed like a pretty tremendous failure.

Still, he was texting her, that was a good sign.

Or it had been. Then she’d actually read it. What did that mean?

Good morning. Call me…

Persephone hadn’t had a phone for very long, only a year, but she understood subtext. If conversations with Artemis and Eros weren’t enough, it had turned out that most of her classmates were avid texters themselves. No one phoned anymore. Or so it had been explained to her.

She went into her first class feeling anxious, and even though he’d asked her to call her, she held off. Her Botany exam was today, and even though she was fairly confident she’d ace it, she would rather wait until after to be broken up with.

Gods. They’d only been on two dates. But obviously he knew she was unworthy now. She was clumsy and young and why would the King of the Underworld want to be with a stupid little village girl?

“Perse?” Tori prompted. She startled, turning to see him holding out the exam sheet. He sent her a confused look, not unkindly. Their relationship had its rocky patches, but after she’d forced Hades to give his roommate the eye back, they’d settled into a nice polite acquaintance.

“Oh, yeah, sorry,” she murmured, taking the exam with an anxious smile.

He blinked. “Nervous? Don’t worry. I’m sure you’ll do fine.”

She smiled a little wider, touched that he would try to reassure her. “Thanks…just, you know, normal test jitters.”

Turning back and placing the exam softly on her desk, Persephone tried to banish any doubts from her mind. Now was not the time to mourn the death of her fledgling relationship. She had a break at lunch. She’d probably cry then.

The test went swimmingly, as did the debate in Godly Law, and the reading discussion in Epic Poetry. _Class_ was not the issue.

When her break finally rolled around, Persephone took the short walk to the center of campus and found a nice secluded tree to sit underneath. She wanted privacy if she was going to handle whatever the hell that text meant. What she really needed was Eros, but ever since he’d found Psyche she hated to interrupt their happy couple bliss with her convoluted thing, or whatever it was, with Hades.

Swallowing thickly, Persephone drew her phone out of her pocket, thumbing at the screen and staring down at the tiny red notification over the text app. One. She opened it, staring at the message through narrowed eyes.

Well, it hadn’t changed in the hours since she’d received it.

She thought back to last night, searching for any glaring offenses, other than the table cloth. It had seemed to go well, all else told, and he’d driven her home after and given her a very polite kiss to the cheek.

So she’d knocked over a candle? Who still ate by candlelight anyway? Gods, were they living in the Titan Ages?

They’d been dancing around each other for months, and the first date had been a literal dream. Maybe she’d been arrogant to think they’d gotten past the worst of it, gotten past all the awkwardness and the self-doubt. Being with Hades felt right, it felt exciting and satisfying. Persephone thought he felt the same new rush of eager joy, but maybe she was wrong.

With a deep and sorrowful sigh, she swiped up and started tapping at the keyboard.

just got out of class. free to talk?

His response was immediate

All clear..

What the hell did that mean? With a frustrated huff, Persephone called him, leg bouncing as she fretted. The phone rang for a beat too long, and she worried that he was playing some kind of cruel trick on her. Then he picked up.

“Hey Sweetness!” he chirped. She smiled involuntarily.

“Hi!” she practically cooed, cringing internally at the huskiness of her voice. Gods, she was a goner.

“I assume you got my text?” he asked, and her stomach dropped.

“Uh, yeah I did. Is everything okay?” She hated how small her voice sounded.

His concern was apparent even through the phone. “No. Why, is everything okay with you?”

“You sounded angry,” she admitted.

“I sounded—Persephone it was a text!” he sounded outright confused.

“Yeah, and it sounded angry. Good morning. Call me? That sounds very ominous!”

“What? I was saying good morning, and I wanted to hear your voice,” he explained, still sounding quite baffled.

“You put a _full stop_! And the ellipses? Very ominous!” she insisted. The relief was there, surely, but now she was frustrated. She’d worried all morning that he was going to crush her heart, and the whole thing was a simple misunderstanding?

“Ellipses?” he asked, voice getting distant for a moment, he was quiet for a moment. “Oh,” he said, voice returning. He sounded bashful. “I didn’t mean to do those.”

“Hades!” she snapped. “I was terrified!”

“Terrified of what?”

“I was—well I was afraid you were…” she couldn’t bear to say it, squirming with discomfort. Persephone was so thankful he couldn’t see the full-bodied flush she was suffering from. All of this, a total and complete misunderstanding.

“Kore,” he murmured, suddenly serious, “I had an amazing time last night, table cloth and all. I was actually going to ask if you wanted to have dinner again Thursday.”

Persephone gasped, taking the phone away from her ear for a moment so she could flail around a little bit. She felt like she might jump out of her own skin, she was so excited. “Yes!” she exclaimed, bringing the phone back to her face. “I’d love to!”

“Good,” he replied, and she could hear the wince through the phone. Oh. Too loud.

“Good!” she agreed.

“Hades,” a voice barked from somewhere in the room with him. It sounded like Hecate. Persephone grinned, imagining the goddess sitting through the peculiar one-sided conversation.

“Sorry Sweetness, duty calls,” he grumbled.

“It’s okay!” she reassured him. “I’ll see you at work tomorrow.”

“Can’t wait.”

“Stop laughing!” Persephone snapped. Eros was laughing so hard he had stopped making any sound, and Artemis looked to be on the way there. The pair of them were slumped against each other on the couch, eyes closed in mirth. Psyche was sitting in the armchair, looking incredibly confused.

“S-Sorry Perse, but- but that’s- that- Gods!” Eros clutched his stomach, trying to reign himself in.

“Can I see it again?” Artemis asked, hands reaching out to grab at Persephone’s phone. The pink goddess glared, tucking the phone back into her pocket.

She’d asked to have dinner with the three of them in order to ask for some much-needed advice and catch up with her friends, but they were now spending about twenty minutes laughing at the whole situation.

“It’s not funny!” she grumbled. “I was really worried!”  
“I really am sorry, sweetheart,” Eros wheezed, composing himself after a few more moments of laughter. Artemis was too far gone at this point. “It’s just…you’re dating an absolute _old man_.”

“Stop!” she whined.

“Does he always text like that?” he asked.

She shrugged. “I never noticed it before. I guess.”

“Is it quite impolite?” Psyche asked. She was new to Olympus level technology, and she’d just gotten her first phone last week.

“It’s funny,” Artemis snorted. “That’s how my mom texts.”

Persephone made a face. “Mine too.”

“Oh, is she finally texting you?” Eros asked.

“A little. I’m gonna give it another week before she finally stops trying to make me change my mind.”

“Can we get back to the matter at hand?” Artemis asked. She’d finally sat up, although her skin was still flushed from the exertion of her laughter. She was finally winding down. “Your boyfriend texts like a dad!”

“You should really teach him not to do that,” Psyche said.

Eros turned to stare at her. “You’re one to talk! I can’t even get you to text me!”  
“I don’t understand why I would. We spend a lot of time together. And when we don’t I’d much rather phone.”

Artemis, eyes wide, pointed an accusative finger in Eros’ direction. “You too! Both of you are dating grandparents!”

“Pardon me!” Psyche gasped.

Persephone’s phone dinged just as Artemis started laughing again and Eros rushed to explain their friend was only joking.

Hey…. How are you….

Persephone groaned, turning the phone around so her friends could see Hades’ latest text. “Tell me what this is supposed to mean.

The laughter went on for hours.

**Author's Note:**

> Not a part of my other LO series.  
> Consider buying me a coffee!  
> https://ko-fi.com/going_going_gone


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